Melodies of Life
by Kitten Kisses
Summary: FE7. I want to be with you so bad…I want to hold you once more, I want to kiss you, like I was never able to do…
1. Melodies of Life

Well I've ventured into the world of Fire Emblem… I'm proud to say this is my first fanfiction on a video game! *grins widely* Aaaaaannnnnnnndddddd expect to see several FE one-shots written by me! =D WooT!

Onto the ficcie! =P

Melodies of Life 

****

A Matthew/Leila fanfiction written by Kitten Kisses, to the song "Melodies of Life" from the game Final Fantasy IX.

~Song lyrics are bold and underlined 

Otherworldy voices are just italicized.

**~flashbacks will be stated~**

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Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Fire Emblem wasn't my idea, so I guess I don't own them. =P But if the rights were simply handed to me, I'd gladly take them!

~_+~_++_~+_~

The red and gold of the leaves were seen as they drifted slowly to the cold ground. A young man trudged slowly along, his shoulders slumped, as if he carried the weight of many problems upon them.

Under his feet, the red and gold leaves were crushed, littering the cobblestone road with fragments of the once-perfect foliage. 

~Alone, for awhile ~I've been searching through the dark 

His eyes were lowered to the ground, his dirty-blonde hair blowing softly as the breeze touched it gently. But his gaze, it held a look that most men don't ever wish to see.

Loneliness…

He passed a few men on the way, but ignored them, his steps never faltering. Eventually, he slowed down, until, finally, his feet brought him to a halt at the edge of a small grove of trees. 

He gathered his breath, pulling his cloak close to his body, and took a hesitant step forward.

~For traces of the love you left ~Inside my lonely heart 

His hand lifted slowly, and pulled the branches of the weeping willow away, as he stepped under the large tree's shade.

Weeping willows surrounded it, he knew. And the trees whose names' stood for something he felt… 

He walked swiftly to the other side of the tree, lifting its branches again, and stepped out into a rain of color.

**~To weave, by picking up**

**~The pieces, that remain**

Red, gold, and orange floated lightly past his face, and his eyes lifted heaven-ward. 

'Why it had to be you, Leila, I will never understand…' 

In the center of the clearing stood a large marble stone. The young man made his way closer to the stone that stood so proudly in the center of the circle of weeping willows, and a faint smile crossed his lips.

'I remember…I worked so hard for that…' 

He knelt slowly by the stone, and set a hand lightly on it's cool surface.

"Can you hear me, Leila?" he asked aloud. "Do you still hear me when I call?"

****

**~Melodies, of life**

**~Love's lost refrain**

He knew that he shouldn't have been hoping, praying, for an answer, but the disappointment still washed over him. Slowly at first, it spread, until his eyes lowered to the ground, only to see the pattern of leaves scattered about in a crazy way.

He turned around and sat, his back against the cool marble. In a way, it was uncomfortable, but it was his time, to be alone…with all that he had left of her.

"I know, it's been a long time…" he muttered softly, staring at the bright sky as he stroked a hand over the marble. "Five years even…And it seems like just yesterday….that we…"

**~Our paths, they did cross**

**~Though I cannot say just why**

He took a deep shuddering breath. "Five years ago, we were laughing over those pranks we played on Lord Hector…" He looked down at the ground again, his other hand fisting by his leg. "And we were laughing together, not alone."

"I know you must think it's silly…you've heard it four times now already…but this time, I promise it'll be the last." He laughed shortly at himself. "Funny, isn't it, that one second…you were with me, and the next, you were gone?"

**~We met, we laughed**

**~We held on fast**

He slid down the length of the large stone until he was lying on the ground, his head propped up against the cool marble. "I never thought, even suspected, for one moment…that you wouldn't be there with me, for the rest of my life. That one minute, I would turn around, and you wouldn't be there beside me…"

He closed his eyes lightly, and took a deep, calming breath to steady his voice. "I feel so silly, sometimes…talking to the air, the wind…but it makes me feel better, thinking that maybe, just maybe…you can hear me."

**~And then we said goodbye…**

"And it must have been awful…you were all alone…nobody was there with you when you died…nobody. I'm still angry at myself, Leila…still angry…because I wasn't there the moment you needed me the most."

**~And who'll hear the echos**

**~Of stories, never told?**

****

"But Jaffar, I know…it wasn't his fault…and you showed me that, in your own way, even though you're gone… I've finally gotten over it, the hurtful hate toward him. I felt so _bad_, so _wrong…_ He has feelings too… And Nino, she's a great girl. I know he likes her a lot…and I didn't want to take her away from him like you were taken from me… That would have been wrong, cruel even… To separate two people that love each other…"

**~Let the ring out loud**

**~Till they unfold**

"They're happy…I've seen them once or twice since the last get-together we've had. The sparkle's still in their eyes, and I've heard there were twins on the way… I always wanted a family, you know? Children to take care of…A wife to cherish…"

**~In my dearest memories**

**~I see you reaching out to me**

"I'm just sad that that won't ever happen to the two of us… And I waited too long…just a few days, weeks, months sooner, and maybe none of that would have happened… Maybe we'd be together, raising a family, right now…"

He opened his eyes again, and picked up a leaf from the ground, twirling it between his thumb and forefinger.

"You liked autumn…I remember that…" he reminisced, and his gaze drifted off. "The fall colors filled your eyes with the most wonder I've ever seen before."

**~Though you're gone**

**~I still believe**

"And you looked so beautiful when you spotted the first leaf fall… You laughed, and clapped your hands together, shouting all over Ostia about how it was autumn again…"

His gaze came back into focus on the leaf he held in his hand. "I can't believe I laughed at you the first time I saw your excitement."

A small chuckle sounded deep in his throat as he remembered. "Yeah…I sure do miss those days…"

**~That you can call…**

**~Out, my name…**

"I think that's where I fell in love with you…your beauty, your love for life, your enthusiasm…optimism… and you were always cheerful. And I thought… I thought that nothing, _nothing_…could take that away from you. Nobody would ever be able to take away what you held in your eyes…"

**~A voice, from the past**

**~Joining yours and mine**

"The passion for life, the sorrows of your past…the past that I will never be able to learn about… You told me, that… you said you'd tell me…after you got back. But you never came back… I came back though, I came alone…but I brought you with me."

He patted the soil beneath his hands lightly. "Lord Hector let me…he said he didn't mind that I brought you along… Even though life wasn't grand…and things weren't going right for anyone… You came…"

**~Adding up the layers**

**~Of harmony…**

"I remember Eliwood, and how grief-stricken he looked as he held his father's body close. And I looked back at the island where I left you…and I couldn't leave you there…I vowed to come back, and bring you home again. I know how much you loved the shade of the willows on a warm summer day…"

**~And so it goes**

**~On and on**

****

"And I asked Lord Hector if I could lay you to rest here, where I knew you would like it… He even offered the royal cemetery. But I said no, you never tried to be someone you weren't…even though you were royalty to me. I knew you wanted to be in a place where you could be alone if you wanted…to think, to remember… It sounds so stupid, now that I think about it… Maybe I should have taken up on Hector's idea."

**~Melodies of life**

**~To the sky beyond the, flying birds**

"I'm not so sure anymore, about anything. Life sure is lonely without you Leila…it's just not the same… The birds' songs aren't as cheerful to me…and the laughter is dimmed, it seems. I can see them laughing, and I think…they shouldn't have the right to laugh if you can't laugh with them."

**~Forever, and always…**

****

"Oh and your voice…musical… I told you that you could sing, and I was _right_. You were such a beautiful girl to begin with…and you could sing like an angel… I only heard you once…when you thought you were alone…down by the fields…by a small rock… I saw you singing, and I listened…"

**~So far, and away**

**~See the bird as it flies by**

"And the emotion in the song, made me feel what you felt. I didn't know why you were singing, or what the rock was for…but I asked…after you left me, I found out. Your younger brother, killed in a murderous rage by a drunken father… And I never knew the pain you went through as a child…the _horror_ of growing up with a father that would go so far as to kill his own child…"

**~Gliding through the shadows**

**~Of the clouds up in the sky**

"But I never even suspected anything like that…you were always so nice, so friendly… to me, to everyone. I'm sorry I never knew, never tried to do anything… And I'm sorry I couldn't move your brothers' grave. The stone's gone now, removed… I looked for days, in the spot I saw you singing at."

**~I've laid my memories, and dreams**

**~Upon those wings**

"But I never heard you sing again…what I wouldn't give, for just one more song… our song… I miss your musical laughter, your soft eyes…"

**~Let them go, and see what**

**~Tomorrow brings…**

"But most of all, I miss your smile… You always seemed to know what I was thinking… and every time I was feeling down, you would give me that beautiful smile… the brightest one of all, every time… And it always made me feel like I was on top of the world…"

**~In your dearest memories…**

**~Do you remember loving me?**

He sighed and looked at the sunset. The clouds were sprayed with purple, pink, and orange, casting a soft glow on the world below.

**~Was it fate…**

**~That brought us close**

**~And now leaves…**

**~Me behind?**

"I'll never know how you felt about me…I'll never know your exact past… I'll never know the answer… The answer to the question I was never able to ask…"

**~A voice, from the past**

**~Joining yours and mine**

"But I worked so hard for this…" he announced proudly, patting the huge headstone. "I got an honest job and worked for a year to save up enough money to buy it…for you."

**~Adding up the layers**

**~Of harmony**

"I carved every last word in this myself too…" he smiled softly. "I didn't want any other man to do it…It was from me, to you…"

**~And, so it goes, on and on…**

**~Melodies of life…**

****

"It had to be special, and I wanted you to feel my love for you in the words…"

He ran a hand over the carved headstone. "It had to be big to fit all I wanted to write…" he told the wind.

**~To the sky **

**~Beyond the flying birds**

****

"And I want you to know, that I still mean every last word of it. Every last single word…"

**~Forever…**

~And if, I should leave, this lonely world behind… 

"I want to be with you so bad…I want to hold you once more, I want to kiss you, like I was never able to do…but I'm not stupid…I won't take my life to get there. I'll wait out my years, and join you when it's my time."

**~Your voice will still remember, **

**~Our melody**

"And when I get there, will you sing my song for me? The song you promised to sing for me, when we could be together again…"  
  


**~Now, I know we'll**

**~Carry on…**

"But I've brought this for you…" he said, sitting up, and reaching into his cloak. "I bought it honestly, just for you. I saw it, and it reminded me of you…"

He pulled out his hand, and in his palm sat a small, bright pink rose. "Not as beautiful as you are, but it was the closest thing I could find…"

**~Melodies of life**

**~Come circle round **

"The sun's nearly set…" he murmured slowly, placing a light kiss on the marble. "But I'll return next year…and the year after…" He stood slowly, wrapping his cloak around himself again. "Until we meet again, love…" he said, slowly making his way out of the small clearing.

The autumn leaves continued to fall as his figure faded into the distance, out of sight.

And a delicate pale hand reached out, and touched the rose that the young man had set on the gravestone.

Oh… 

A young woman stepped out from the shadows, her bright hair shining pink in the evening light. A soft, sad smile graced her features and she picked up the small flower and held it close to her heart.

She knelt next to the headstone, and read the words she had read every year… They always were the same, and they always made her smile…

Here lies… 

_The most wonderful woman in the world_

_Her smile, her eyes…they shone with a light like no other_

_She was beautiful…_

_Now she's gone, but she'll always be with me_

_I carry her in my heart…_

_In my soul…_

_And in my memories…_

_I love her_

_And I miss her_

_And I'm waiting to be with her_

__

_And when I leave this world_

_I want to know one thing…_

_Leila…_

_I love you_

Will you marry me? Loving you always… 

_-Matthew_

Tears gathered in the young woman's eyes, and she slowly stood up. The sun in the west was slowly sinking. She loved sunsets… So beautiful, and they brought out the colors in the fall. 

And for one last second, the world was light, the oranges and pinks spread across the sky…and then, the sun fell in the west, and the world plunged into darkness.

The woman sighed, and sat on the gravestone, tucking the small rose in her hair. She took a deep breath, and opened her mouth. 

A beautiful song fell from her lips, and she only wished that he could hear it. 

If anyone would happen to walk into the small clearing…they would see a girl with her face turned upward, her mouth opened in song, and beautiful white wings sprouting from her back. 

But the words to her song are silent.

For angels are dead, and their voices can only be heard by those who are dead as well.

In time…In time you will hear our song again, Matthew. And it will be twice as beautiful as you remember…

A flash of white, and all that was left was a soft white feather, sitting in the very spot that the small flower had been…

**~As long as…**

**~We remember….**

~_+~_++_~+_~

WHEW! *wipes forehead*

Let me know what you thought please! Reviews inspire me! I actually have an idea for a sequel to this, but I'm not sure if I should write it or not! =P It will have a happy ending if I do write it! (I had sad endings ;_; )

And I've also got an idea for a fanart of Leila. Isn't she wonderful?

I'm proud to say that Leila was my nickname for two years in school. =D

One more question, I would LOVE if you would answer in your review! Would ANYONE be interested in reading an AU (Alternate Universe) Fire Emblem fanfiction that takes place as a western? *Grins* Let me know!

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! If I get reviews, I'll write more FE fanfiction! =D

::Pawprints::

-Kitten Kisses aka Leila


	2. Deep

I've been having problems with getting all the text **bold** or _italicized_. I'm not sure why, so yeah…

*ahem*

I'm glad that soooo many people liked my last chapter to this! Unfortunately, this will be the last chapter. ;_; Hey wait! Come back! Don't you want to find out about Matthew's fate? Errrrrrrrrrrr….maybe I said too much?? *zips mouth*

Heh.

Well, read on!

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Disclaimer: Feh. 

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Deep 

His thoughts were drifting again, and he was lost in his own world. The world that contained his happiness, his fire, his life…his love.

Leila… 

He shook his head as he awoke, the small smile that had been on his face as he slept slowly dissipating as he realized the truth.

Reality is just cruel, isn't it?

Leila wasn't here…

Leila is gone…

She is----

He shook free the angsty thoughts that entered his mind again. He didn't want to think like that!

It had been a long time, certainly. A long…long time…

He slowly made his way out of the straw mat he occupied in the basement of Castle Ostia. 

The kingdom just wasn't what it used to be…

Not since…

He shook his head again, not wanting to remember.

He had blinked again, and some of his closest friends were gone.

Lord Hector, the Lady Lyndis…

All…..

He swallowed.

His life just hadn't been what he'd expected.

Back when he met her, he thought…

That he would be happy forever…

And then, after she…passed on, he thought that maybe…

He could still be happy.

But none of that had happened.

All the friends he had made on his travels, most of them were gone, or missing… The war had claimed many lives. And the horror wasn't over yet.

Children were in charge of most of the surrounding lands. Young children, teenage children… young adults…

Lilina and Roy tried their best, but they were just children, really. And with a baby on the way, there wasn't much they could do.

Reality doesn't really have fairy-tale happy endings, does it?

His back ached, he realized, as he stood to make his way to breakfast. The first of two meals that Ostia could afford for the members of the castle.

Ostia was poor, and the peasants living around were even worse off.

He shakily made his way down the hall to the long table in the nearly-bare castle. He just wasn't the man he once was. Now old and frail, he knew he wouldn't be around much longer too see the horrid fate of his once-loved home.

Cornmeal mush was a daily thing now. He sat at the table and dug into the tasteless goo, not really caring whether or not it went down his throat or slid to the floor. His hands shook and he watched in despair as he knocked the bowl to the ground. 

His eyes slowly followed the bowl's path, and he cringed as his small ration for the morning landed all over the floor. 

"I'll, I'll clean it up," he stuttered slowly, scooting his chair back to clean up the mess the best he could.  

And he felt…so helpless, like a child needing to be cared for.

"Uncle Matthew, don't worry about it," a feminine voice said quickly.

Matthew looked up to see a young woman with a protruding stomach, her eyes shining sadly. Beside her stood a young man, who looked so much like his father that it reminded Matthew of him every time he saw him. 

"Lilina, Roy," he said slowly. "It's alright, I…I don't mean to be a burden to either of you……I just…. I have to do my share of the work…"

He sounded lost, even to his own ears.

"No, it's alright," Roy said, helping Matthew up from the floor. "We'll get it taken care of…"

"It's such a nice day, Uncle Matthew!" Lilina said cheerfully. "Did you want to go for a walk with me?"

-----+-----

The fall colors reminded Matthew of another time, another place…

He was different then though, not the same man he had ended up as. He was once young, he remembered…

The leaves had fallen, and he had heard the wind whistling through the trees…

"Can I…" He tugged on Lilina's sleeve. "I want to see her…please, can I just see her…?"

"See…" Lilina trailed off. She knew who he was talking about… And she allowed the older gentleman to lead the way to his love's grave.

"It's still as beautiful as it always was…" he remarked slowly. "Last year though, I couldn't come…I was too sick, too ill…..too old…being old isn't fun, Lilina…"

He sighed, and sat down slowly on the grave, as he stared up at the sky.

"The same sky, the same trees…the same soil… The people you grow up are there, and then you blink…" He snapped his fingers slowly. "And they're gone, just like that. But you're still stuck in the same place. While nature stays the same, you don't. You get older…turn grey…" He shook his head slowly and let his chin rest on his knee.

"I'm just grateful that I'll be seeing her soon…today maybe. That's what keeps me going. Soon, I'll be able to see her, and she'll be just as pretty as she always was…"

Lilina listened to him ramble slowly about his life's love.  A small smile graced her features as she sat with the elderly man that she had learned to call uncle.

"And here I am, old and feeble…" He laughed shortly. "It won't be too long now…" he said slowly. "I feel so tired, so old… I've been waiting a lifetime, just to die and move on…a lifetime, waiting to see her again. I know what it's like now, to love someone and be apart…so _far_ apart, that I can't do anything about it."

"I remember…if I had troubles, I would steal…I was a thief you know, when I was young…and Leila, she was a spy too, for House Ostia…I fell in love with her the minute I laid eyes on her. She was so beautiful…"

He lowered his gaze sadly to the ground before he looked up at Lilina. "All my friends are up there, it seems. This war, it's gone too far…People keep dying…and what will happen when there isn't a country left to defend?"

"They're out at battle today, Uncle Matthew," Lilina told him softly. "Roy, he left… they hope that this will be the last battle…the **_very_** last…"

"Oh, I hope so…I hope so…" He smiled softly. "Do you hear that?" he asked her. "Can you hear that music?"

Lilina cocked her head to the side, listening intently. "No, I hear nothing…"

"Oh, that's a shame…That's my song, **_our_** song…" he leaned back against the headstone and closed his eyes. "Such a beautiful song, and she always sang it so beautifully too…"

-----+-----

"Uncle Matthew…." Lilina whispered, a few hours later. "Are you alright?"

"Oh…I'm fine…just listening to my song… Leila always was a beautiful singer…could hit any note…" he smiled, and shifted slightly, not opening his eyes. "I think I'm ready…ready to go home…" A small tear fell from the corner of his eye. 

It fell down the side of his wizened face and hit the ground with a soft 'plunk'. More followed it's path, leaving a trail of sadness in their wake.  

"No, Uncle Matthew, you …can't go yet!" Lilina reached over to take Matthew's hands. 

"No…I want to go, I have to…I'm too old, all my friends are gone, I want to see them again, I want…I want to be happy…"

"Uncle Matthew, will you tell her, tell Leila hello for me…and tell her, that she is the best aunt I've ever had…"

"But you-"

"I never met her, but I've heard so much." She slowly put her arms around Matthew's frail body and hugged him tightly. "I don't want you to go, but I know you want to. Leila's waiting for you…go to her…" She kissed his cheek softly, and opened her eyes to see Matthew's own eyes, softened with age.

"I will…I will child…" he smiled slightly, and leaned back against the headstone, he had worked so hard to get for her. Running his hands along the side of it, along the words that were engraved using his love, his heart…he smiled softly. 

"Only she can sing so well," he told nobody in particular… "Only her…"

And his body went limp there, in the warmed autumn air. Tears fell from Lilina's eyes as the horns blared Ostia's victory for all the kingdom to hear.

And Matthew glanced down at the war- now won. And he smiled, seeing loved ones embracing, and people kissing at their reunions.

He looked down at his own clothes, the same ones he wore the day she had gone… His cape blew in the breeze, and he smiled at his youth. 

And his eyes looked up too see a young woman with bright hair and light eyes, singing softly as she came toward him. Her ragged cape blowing lightly in the air, a smile upon her face; and love in her eyes.

She stopped in front of him, and her smile widened. "It's good to have you back," she said, finished with her singing.  

"It's good to be back," he answered, drinking in the sight of her. 

"I missed you," she told him. 

"I lived a life without you," he said sadly. "And I never asked…I meant too, but I blinked, and you were gone…"

"About that?" she asked, pointing down at the gravestone on earth. Lilina's form slowly stroking his hand. "I would have said yes, you know…"

'I know…" he smiled. "But I lived all those years to hear you say that, just to make sure."

"You're such a dork," she answered, rolling her eyes skyward.

"But I still love you," he said slowly. "Twice as much as then."

"Oh Matthew!" she cried, wrapping her arms around him. "Me too, me too…."

"Let's sing…the two of us, together…"

-----+-----

Lilina looked up sharply, as a shadow fell over her. The shock on her face faded to one of happiness as she realized who it was.

"Roy!" she shouted, standing up slowly to give him a hug. "I'm glad you came back, I was worried and-"

"He's gone?" he asked slowly, pointing at Matthew, still leaning against the headstone, his face peaceful.

"Yes…" she sighed, a tear falling. "But he wanted so badly to go, so badly. He missed her so much, you know…"

"Shhhh, listen." He whispered.

They became silent, the two of them, and Roy took his wife's hand as they listened silently.

The wind blew softly, the leaves fell, but if you listened close enough, you could hear two voices singing in harmony.

And though they sang softly, their words were loudly imprinted on the hearts of those that heard them. The men coming back from war, who hadn't seen their wives in months, the children who missed their parents, and on Roy, and Lilina, who stood together in the quiet clearing.

Suddenly, Lilina gasped. 

"What is it?" Roy asked suddenly.

"It's….time," she smiled her eyes bright. "And I've got the best names for them…"

"Them?" Roy asked, a confused look on his face.

"Twins," she whispered back, and, when she looked to the side, she saw them both, singing together, smiles on their faces, and love in their eyes. She put her hand in Roy's and let him lead her away from the small clearing, her heart light. She grimaced lightly as another contraction came, but then grinned. "It looks like Matthew and Leila can't wait to come out into the world!" she announced.

And if she would have looked back, she would have seen them smile happily at one another at the news.

~And if, I should leave, this lonely world behind…

**~Your voice will still remember, **

**~Our melody**

**~Now, I know we'll**

**~Carry on…**

**~Melodies of life**

**~Come circle round **

**~And grow deep**

~**In our hearts…**

**~As long as…**

**~We remember….**

~_+~_++_~+_~

T_T;; I almost cried writing this…grrrrrrr I don't cry at my own writing! FEH!

*grins*

I tried really hard at the ending, really I did. *looks pitiful*

Hehe

Anyway, it would be realllyyy cool if you reviewed for me! Puh-leasseeee??

I'm working on some plot-lines for the western FE Fanfiction. I hope to have it up soon! Hehe

~~"G'day ma'am!" Hector tipped his hat.~~

Teehee! That's hard to picture, ne?

I found a man who played someone in a movie called "Love Comes Softly" He looked EXACTLY like Hector! O_o I'll have to get a screenshot!

::Pawprints::

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

Reviews inspire me!! WOOTTT!!

PS. And to those who read "In Your Eyes" this authoress has FINALLY gotten some inspiration for a new chapter! Hehe! I hope to have a new chappie out by mid-march! ^^;;


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